Remember Who You Are – Align With Your Creative Source
A few weeks ago now, through a series of actions that I took in alignment with feelings that I wanted to express – a beautiful, passionate voiced being came into my life by the name of Angelica. You will find that post here on this blog with a video of Angelica bringing her gift of singing into a cathedral which she filled with the beauty of her voice and her presence.
I do believe that when we as women come in touch with our own creative source and align with that by bringing it out into the world, we love others into alignment. Angelica is a beautiful example of that for she has touched me with her story and her creative gifts – and through that has reminded me of my own creations that await to be passionately launched into flight.
Below you will find a chapter from her book which comes with her CD – Remember Who You Are. I encourage each one of you to go to her website below and appreciate that you too are even now “remembering who you are” through daily aligning with your creative source, opening to possibility, and taking action steps from that place. You are not alone….
Deep gratitude and appreciation to Angelica who has touched my life with her voice and her being. Road trip to Canada anyone??
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Remember Who You Are
- The Story Behind The Song –
by Angelica Ganea-Mileto
My Journey
When I first came to Canada, what caught my attention was the rich palette of wonderful opportunities this country had to offer: jobs, colleges where one could study at any age, food in abundance, heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, beautifully paved streets, the possibility of choosing a car and a house based on your income… There were literally hundreds of things that made me feel so blessed the moment I made this country my new home. However, along with all that, there was a very tiny question beginning to take root in my mind: “Why wasn’t I born here?”
Why did I have to be born in a country where the main source of heat in the winter was the gas-cooking stove so we had to go to sleep wearing sweaters, mittens, and hats? Why did I have to be born in a country where, to provide milk for their children, mothers had to wait in line outside the grocery store at four o’clock in the morning regardless of the weather, a country where bread, oil, flour, and meat were rationed?
Why did I have to be born in a country where television programs were broadcast for only two hours a day, where it was normal to be stuck in the elevator for hours due to the government disconnecting the electricity for economic reasons, where the grocery stores carried bananas, oranges and raisins only at Christmas? Why wasn’t I born here instead, and able to have the abundance Canada offered?
Why did I have to be born in a communist country and be restricted and fearful as a child, having to monitor my words very carefully because my parents could be put in jail or even go “missing” if I misspoke? Why wasn’t I born here instead and able to feel the freedom of not being afraid?
Why did I have to be born in a country where for years, the songs we had sung as children were imposed upon us? Why wasn’t I born in Canada and able to blossom as a singer in the way I believed I could? Instead, I found myself here as an adult, feeling fearful about the direction I wanted to take, not even knowing the language, looking to take the subway train from “Subway,” the sandwich place, and feeling so silly about it later…
Without realizing it, I slowly started to resent not only where I had come from, but also where I was in the present. My determination to pursue my career in Canada was always very strong— the thought of succeeding was what actually kept me going— but at the same time I felt overwhelmed by the length of the process. It felt as if I had been born all over again, only this time already grown-up and having to bury deep inside almost everything I’d ever known, while trying to find a way to adjust to something that felt very much alien. And even though in the back of my mind I always knew that the scenarios of both my past and my present were not the most unfortunate conditions that exist on this planet, I was still hanging on to the question, “Why?”
Little did I know that by trying to find the answer to that question I was fighting a futile battle, keeping myself prisoner in a bubble of illusion- the illusion that I was not in charge of my own life. And by doing so, I could never find the answer to a yet deeper question, the answer that would give me the peace I was actually looking for: “Why do things happen a certain way?”
I don’t have all the answers, and I love the fact that I don’t, simply because exploring life one step at a time is beautiful. One thing I’m sure of, however, is that my words and music are rooted in the perspective that I hold due to living my life’s experiences, and that I know to be my truth. This is what my words and music are about. They are about the moment I let myself peek through my own little box and dared to be open to new possibilities. They are about the moment I felt as if a window had just opened and the freshest smell of crisp morning air touched my face and quickly filled my whole body with boundless freedom… After years of being stuck in the vicious circle of thinking that my life wasn’t going anywhere it finally occurred to me: does it really matter where we are at the moment of birth? Does it really matter where we are at any point in our life?
Leaving the judgment behind, I finally realized how my life up until that point had nothing to do with the direction my future would take. The past remains the past; it cannot be changed, as hard as it may be to accept this, but what I can change is the direction my life is going. And I can do that by using one of the most valuable tools available to me at any moment in time: the freedom of choosing my own perspective.
The perspective we choose is what contributes to creating our moods and our emotional responses which in turn energize our experiences, carving out what we call our destiny with undeniable precision. I can choose to have a negative perspective and fall into the trap of feeling like a victim, kneeling with my arms raised up to the sky, asking eternally “Why?” Or I can choose to change how I am viewing the present; acknowledge the blessing of simply being born. Being born, therefore having the opportunity to feel empowered by my own desire, while holding on to the knowing that it’s up to me to make it true.
Looking back at the conditions in my native country while holding no judgment, gives me now an incredible feeling of liberation. The conditions of life were harsh indeed, but that’s all we knew. We had no model by which to compare them, since we didn’t have access to the world outside our borders. So at the time, the situation didn’t feel as negative as it felt when I was able to compare it with Canada, one of the best countries in the world!
Even though our leader was keeping himself occupied with creating and applying more restrictions, we still shared love with our family and friends, found reasons to laugh and enjoy each other’s company; we still had beautiful bedtime stories and sang lullabies to our children. There was nothing that could make us lose sight of our inner freedom, nothing that could make us lose our hope. I remember when I was a child, there was absolutely no way anybody could pull me out of my imaginary world where every single moment was sparkling with desire and sweet anticipation of a beautiful future; my imaginary world where anything was possible.
Then I looked back upon the journey I had undertaken from the moment I made Canada my new home, and even though nothing is ever really wrong with anything, I wished that I hadn’t let myself feel so much negative emotion. I wished that I hadn’t allowed myself to be caught up in what I believed was my reality and react in ways that had actually brought upon me even more negative emotions…
Immigrating is not easy for anybody; the challenges are tangible and can be painful, especially if you are leaving a career behind, moving to a country where you don’t know the language, and having to go to school in order to get a job. However, it’s a process that gave me the opportunity to explore life in a much different way. It helped me realize the power in the simplicity of making a clear choice: the choice between moving along with the process or resist it; the choice between living with peace or living with pain and resentment…
I chose to feel better. I chose to look at challenges with appreciation and accept the idea that immigrating to such a beautiful country was equal to having a second chance at life. I chose to recognize the huge potential of being able to use the resources this beautiful country has to offer as an opportunity to become much stronger and much more than I had ever been before.
Changing my perspective was one of the most fulfilling and rewarding feelings I’d ever had up until that point. Looking at my past and my present through different eyes, forgiving everything and everybody that I thought were responsible for my struggles, helped me find the peace of mind I so needed in order to be able to look forward with courage and anticipation.
Once I let go of the weight of the judgment, my mind became clearer. And as I was learning about the power of thought, the power of intention and visualization, I realized something that stopped me in my tracks and put a smile of astonishment on my face… I remembered the very desire I had as a child, the beautiful future I kept living in my mind every single night as I was going to sleep, year after year. It was that strong, innocent desire that had paved the path for moving to a country that provided all the resources necessary to fulfill my dream. It took me thirteen years to realize that what I was resenting was my opportunity to fulfill my dream. It took me thirteen years to realize that what I was resenting was my process of becoming.
I would have never known what deep passion and true appreciation really felt like if it weren’t for the times I had to give up the only thing that defined me. I’ve learned that music is truly my identity, and that life lived without following my passion is a life filled with unanswered questions. But mostly, I’ve learned that we all are pure spirit, joyful, perfect beings. Therefore, we all have the ability to get in touch with our divine Self and, while living life from that standpoint, inspire others to have the courage to reach for their own dreams.
I am not going to stay here and tell you “anything is possible,” but what I am going to tell you is this: never give up on yourself. No matter where you are on this planet, no matter the conditions around you, it can always get better if you choose it to be better. It can always get better if you choose to adopt a positive perspective and appreciate everything that makes up your moment of now. It can always get better if you choose to hold on to the thought of future accomplishments instead of the thought of not wanting to be where you are. It can always get better if you focus on the clear picture of what you want to achieve and stay strong in your decision to do what makes you feel good. It can always get better if you stay loyal to the truth inside, if you follow your heart. Only then are limiting boundaries and man-made rules broken; only then does “anything is possible” become more than just words, as you will feel their meaning and naturally live it.
Don’t question your ability to reach heights you’ve never even imagined, and certainly don’t let the question “How am I going to do it?” shadow your desire. The most beautiful, most rewarding part of listening to your heart is that you need not worry about how it will happen. You need not worry about the steps you must take toward materializing your desire. The Universe will send everything you need in order for you to accomplish what you came here to do. The right circumstances, the right people, the right words will undoubtedly make their way toward you if you trust the process and look for the beauty and the majestic purpose in everything. I know that, now…
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